Predictors of frequent oral analgesic use in rheumatoid arthritis

The main objective of this study was to determine the predictors of frequent oral analgesic use among Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients who were prescribed with the above medication on an 'as-needed' basis.

Patients with RA were recruited consecutively from the Rheumatology outpatient clinics in this cross-sectional study. The sociodemographic data, frequency of oral analgesic intake, Patient Global Assessment (PGA) scores and HAQ (Health Assessment Questionnaire) scores were determined by interviewing the subjects. Subjects were divided into 2 groups; frequent users (3 days and above in a week) and less frequent users (less than 3 days in a week).

In a total of 112 subjects, 39 (34.8%) were frequent analgesic users. Both the HAQ and PGA scores were significantly higher among the frequent users (p<0.05). Using multivariate analysis, the HAQ scores (p=0.015, odds ratio 3.161 [95% confidence interval of 1.246-8.015]) and PGA scores (p=0.039 odds ratio 1.291 [95% confidence interval of 1.012-1.646]) were found to be independent predictors of frequent analgesic use.

Our study confirms that the frequency of analgesic intake in Rheumatoid Arthritis has a significant relationship with patient-reported functional capacity and well being.